‘ 'o  • 6~.'C  - Jk-i-oi. , 


CENTERS  OF 
COMPASSION 


Our  Hospitals  in  India 


Price  Three  Cents 


WOMAN’S 

FOREIGN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Publication  Office 
BOSTON,  MASS. 


Centers  of  Compassion 

OUR  HOSPITALS  IN  INDIA 


MISSION  ZENANA  HOSPITAL 

Bareilly,  India 

ON  the  seventh  day  of  January,  1870,  the 
first  two  missionaries  of  the  Woman’s 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  landed  in  Bom- 
bay. They  arrived  in  Bareilly  some  weeks  later 
during  the  session  of  the  one  India  Conference. 
One  of  the  women  was  Dr.  Clara  Swain,  the 
first  woman  medical  missionary  to  be  sent  to 
the  Orient.  She  was  appointed  to  medical  work 
in  Bareilly,  where  her  success  was  assured  from 
the  first.  A hundred  and  eight  patients  came 
during  their  first  six  weeks  there,  and  the  work  very 
soon  outgrew  the  little  dispensary  started,  and  a 
hospital,  the  first  in  all  southern  Asia,  was  erected. 
The  story  of  the  acquisition  of  property  for  the 
hospital,  a noble  gift  from  a Mohammedan  Prince, 
bitterly  opposed  to  Christianity,  reads  like  an 
“Arabian  Nights”  tale.  Many  other  chapters  out 
of  the  story  of  her  life  and  work  are  of  the  same 
thrilling  type. 

Bareilly  is  a city  of  160,000  inhabitants,  and  is 
one  of  the  most  attractive  in  tl;e  United  Provinces. 
It  is  in  the  center  of  a rich  farming  district,  a five 
hours’  ride  from  the  foot  of  the  Himalayas,  and 
about  midway  between  Calcutta  and  Bombay. 

The  hospital  is  located  in  the  English  section, 
halfway  between  the  cantonments  and  the  native 
city.  The  building  is  ideal  in  form,  being  a rec- 
tangle enclosing  a large  court.  There  is  room  for 
fifty-two  beds.  It  is  old  and  quite  too  small  effi- 
ciently to  take  care  of  the  large  work  developed. 
Last  year  our  doctor  cared  for  980  patients  in  the 
hospital  and  850  outside.  There  were  70  maternity 
cases  and  412  operations.  Adjacent  to  the  hospital 
is  the  dispensary,  a beautiful  building  of  six  rooms, 
conveniently  arranged  for  its  purposes.  “No  doctor 
works  here  without  feeling  great  pride  in  the  dignity 


2 


this  building  seems  to  give  as  it  stands  among  the 
trees  which  furnish  shade  to  the  thousands  as  they 
come  and  go.” 

The  return  visits  to  the  dispensary  last  year 
numbered  39,081  and  the  new  cases  20,271. 

There  is  a fine,  large,  comfortable  home  for  the 
doctor  and  her  assistants,  with  ample  porches  and 
facilities  for  protection  from  storm  on  the  roof, 
which  is  used  for  sleeping. 

The  new  hospital  building  so  much  needed  is  to 
be  provided  by  the  Standard  Bearer  Thank  Offer- 
ing next  year,  and  named  the  Clara  Swain  Memorial 
Hospital. 

Other  needs  are: 

One  doctor. 

One  nurse. 

$2000  for  hospital  equipment. 

MARY  WILSON  SANITARIUM 

Tilaunia,  Rajputana,  India 

Tuberculosis  is  alarmingly  prevalent  all 
over  India.  One  of  the  most  urgent  matters 
is  the  checking  of  the  spread  of  the  disease. 
It  seems  so  futile  to  educate  our  girls  only  to  let 
them  become  victims  of  this  deadly  enemy.  Every 
school  has  among  its  pupils  those  who  are  infected. 
That  they  might  have  proper  conditions  under 
which  to  recover,  as  well  as  to  protect  the  other 
girls  from  infection,  this  sanitarium  was  opened 
in  1906,  by  Dr.  Edna  Beck,  to  which  such  girls 
might  be  sent. 

The  plant  up  to  the  present  time  has  consisted 
of  very  temporary  buildings  which  have  been 
entirely  inadequate.  The  patients  have  come  from 
all  missions  and  from  all  directions,  and  from  the 
most  distant  parts  of  the  country.  They  come  in 
increasing  numbers.  The  institution  has  been  one 
of  the  most  successful  of  its  kind  in  India. 

During  1917,  one  hundred  and  seventy-four  dif- 
ferent patients  were  treated.  One  hundred  and 
one  of  these  were  admitted  during  the  year,  the 
daily  average  being  ninety-one.  There  were  thirty 
deaths  and  fifty  dismissals. 


3 


During  that  year  the  patients  helped  gather 
materials  and  build  a little  stone  church  thirty  by 
fifty.  Its  walls  are  open  arches.  This  is  probably 
the  only  church  owned  by  the  Woman’s  Foreign 
Missionary  Society. 

The  institution  having  proven  its  great  value, 
plans  for  an  enlarged  plant  of  permanent  buildings 
are  now  being  executed.  When  completed  and 
equipped  with  sufficient  helpers  we  will  be  able  to 
care  for  a larger  number  of  women  and  girls  in 
approved  scientific  methods. 

Needs: 

One  doctor. 

One  nurse. 

$4000  to  complete  plant. 

$500  for  beds. 

SIRONCHA 

SIRONCHA  is  in  the  southernmost  district 
of  the  Central  Provinces  and  is  ninety 
miles  from  a railway. 

A hospital  was  built  there  in  1913  at  a cost  of 
about  four  thousand  dollars.  A man  in  Illinois, 
hearing  the  pathetic  stories  of  the  suffering  in  that 
great  jungle  region,  promised  the  price  of  six  fat 
steers  for  equipment  and  the  gift  amounted  to 
about  five  hundred  dollars. 

It  is  a great  misfortune  that  a physician  has 
never  been  sent  to  this  hospital.  The  story  of  Miss 
Blanche  Moore,  who  was  a nurse  there  and  died 
in  1917,  is  one  of  noble  sacrifice. 

There  is  no  medical  aid  within  hundreds  of  miles 
of  the  station.  At  the  time  of  Miss  Moore’s  illness 
a doctor  was  called  from  V'ikarabad.  At  the  end 
of  the  railroad  journey  he  travelled  on  a bicycle 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  through  the  jungle. 

Sironcha  is  the  center  of  evangelistic  work 
extending  eighty  or  ninety  miles  in  all  directions. 
The  hospital,  properly  staffed,  might  be  the  center 
of  a great  work. 

The  immediate  needs  are: 

Full  equipment. 

A doctor. 

A nurse. 


4 


SARAH  CREIGHTON  MEMORIAL 
HOSPITAL 

Brindaban,  India 

BRINDABAN  is  situated  on  the  Ganges 
River,  one  hundred  miles  from  Delhi. 
It  is  one  of  the  sacred  cities  and  one  of  the 
wickedest  cities  in  all  India.  It  is  a city  of  five 
thousand  temples  with  thirty  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  is  wholly  given  over  to  the  vile  worship  of 
Krishna.  It  is  the  mecca  of  thousands  of  pilgrims 
from  every  part  of  India,  who  come  for  the  annual 
festivals. 

Our  hospital  is  the  only  Christian  institution 
in  this  stronghold  of  heathenism.  It  was  built  in 
1910.  It  is  a brick  and  cement  building,  constructed 
after  the  oriental  style  of  one  story  with  wide 
verandas  on  either  side,  making  the  rooms  airy 
and  comfortable.  It  has  twenty-four  beds  in  wards, 
an  operating  and  a dressing  room,  all  with  cement 
floors  but  poorly  equipped. 

The  dispensary  is  a separate  building  of  four 
rooms.  The  physicians  and  nurses'  home  is  a com- 
fortable six-room  bungalow  near  the  hospital. 

Four  years  ago  the  doctor  came  home  on  furlough 
and  since  that  time  the  nurse  with  native  assistants 
has  held  the  work  open  with  an  increasing  number 
of  dispensary  and  in-patients.  A new  doctor  has 
been  appointed  and  will  arrive  on  the  field  next 
winter.  The  nurse  who  has  stood  so  valiantly  in 
this  hard  place  beyond  her  furlough  time  now  comes 
home.  There  is  no  one  to  take  her  place. 

Our  work  has  intrenched  itself  at  this  strategic 
point.  If  we  withdraw,  then  Christianity  abandons 
the  field,  and  that  must  not  be  allowed  to  happen. 
We  must  reinforce  the  position. 

We  need: 

One  nurse. 

$2000  for  equipment  of  hospital. 

$300  annually  for  medicines. 


S 


ELLEN  THOBURN  COWEN  HOSPITAL 

Kolar,  India 

KOLAR  lies  in  one  of  the  principal  districts 
of  the  great  Hindu  State  of  Mysore  in 
South  India,  on  the  plateau  of  the  Denan 
three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level.  It  has  a 
pleasantly  cool  and  beautiful  climate.  It  is  about 
eleven  miles  from  the  main  railway  between  Ban- 
galore and  Madras  and  is  connected  with  the 
junction  of  a local  railroad. 

Kolar  is  the  headquarters  of  the  civil  district  of 
the  same  name  and  is  a place  of  great  antiquity. 
It  has  a population  of  about  ten  thousand. 

The  site  of  the  hospital  is  magnificent.  It  faces 
Kolar  Lake,  and  has  the  high  Boulder  Hills  for  the 
background.  The  plot  of  ground  occupies  ten  acres, 
with  a frontage  of  four  hundred  eighty  feet.  The 
municipality  had  the  plot  cleared,  the  low  places 
filled,  avenue  trees  planted,  the  streets  put  in  good 
condition  and  cement  drains  made.  It  is  sur- 
rounded by  roads  so  that  there  can  never  be  any 
crowding  of  buildings. 

In  1910  Dr.  Margaret  Lewis  opened  a dispensary 
and  during  the  first  few  months  treated  over  three 
thousand  patients.  The  hospital  was  erected  as 
a memorial  to  Mrs.  Ellen  Thoburn  Cowen,  corres- 
ponding secretary  of  Cincinnati  Branch.  It  was 
finished  in  1910  at  a cost  of  $12,000  and  was  dedi- 
cated December  10  by  Bishop  McDowell.  At  the 
close  of  the  service  Mrs.  McDowell  states,  “We 
stood  on  the  verandas  and  sang  the  Doxology  in 
many  languages.” 

The  hospital  is  a beautiful  two-story  building 
with  wide  arched  verandas  in  the  Mohammedan 
style.  It  is  built  of  brick,  plastered  inside  and  out 
with  white,  and  whitewashed,  giving  the  appear- 
ance of  white  marble. 

The  dispensary  occupies  one  end  of  the  building 
and  is  quite  separate  from  the  hospital,  although 
under  the  same  roof.  The  corresponding  wing  at 
the  other  end  contains  the  operating  and  obstetrical 
rooms,  with  anesthesia,  sterilizing  and  wash  rooms 
attached,  all  furnished  to  meet  modern  require- 
ments for  doing  aseptic  and  surgical  work. 

6 


There  are  six  wards  having  forty-six  beds,  office 
and  reception  room,  classroom  for  nurses,  room  for 
house  physician,  linen  room  and  laboratory  complete, 
the  hospital  proper,  with  four  rooms  for  the  doctors’ 
home  and  a room  for  European  patients,  a nurses’ 
home,  servants’  house  and  well,  complete  the  plant. 
All  rooms  open  on  to  the  verandas. 

This  is  our  only  hospital  in  South  India.  It  is 
located  in  a district  which  for  nineteen  years  has 
been  annually  devastated  by  plague. 

Dr.  Lewis  is  broken  in  health  and  has  been 
ordered  home.  There  is  therefore  an  emergency 
need  for  a doctor  at  once.  An  additional  doctor 
should  be  appointed  to  adequately  provide  for  all 
phases  of  the  work,  and  for  furloughs. 

We  have  two  nurses,  a new  one  on  the  field  and 
one  coming  on  furlough. 

Needs: 

Two  doctors. 

$2000  for  hospital  equipment. 

$1000  for  a wall. 

$500  annually  for  medicines. 


MRS.  WILLIAM  BUTLER  MEMORIAL 
HOSPITAL 

Baroda  Camp,  India 

OUR  medical  work  in  Baroda  was  begun 
about  twenty  years  ago,  and  the  hospital 
building  was  erected  in  1909-10.  The  city 
of  Baroda  is  the  capital  of  the  Baroda  Native  State, 
and  is  the  home  of  the  Gaekwar,  the  native  ruler. 
It  has  a population  of  one  hundred  thousand  with 
about  one  hundred  English  residents.  Large  mili- 
tary quarters  for  native  troops  are  located  here. 

The  hospital  draws  its  patients  from  both  city 
and  surrounding  villages.  It  ministers  to  both  high 
caste  and  low  caste.  It  is  a handsome  brick  building 
of  two  stories  situated  in  a three-acre  plot  of  ground. 
In  front  is  a lawn  with  beautiful  flower  gardens  and 
a tennis  court.  There  is  a large  garden  space  where 
all  the  vegetables  used  are  grown.  Running  water 
for  the  hospital  and  grounds  is  supplied  from  a 


7 


well  and  tank.  All  rooms  open  on  to  verandas. 
The  floors  are  cement,  the  ceilings  high,  the  wood- 
work is  white  and  the  walls  painted  light  green. 

The  capacity  is  forty-five  beds.  The  flat  roof  is 
used  for  sleeping  purposes.  There  is  no  dispensary 
building  The  dispensary  work  is  done  on  the  back 
veranda  and  in  the  dressing  rooms. 

There  should  be  two  doctors  for  the  work,  one 
to  care  for  the  hospital,  and  one  to  do  dispensary 
work  in  the  city  and  village. 

There  is  a training  school  for  nurses.  Our  best 
native  trained  nurse  died  last  winter  during  the 
influenza  epidemic. 

Our  doctor  came  home  on  furlough  three  years  ago, 
since  which  time  the  hospital  has  been  practically 
closed.  The  new  doctor  has  been  studying  the 
language  and  is  now  ready  to  take  up  the  work. 
A nurse  has  been  appointed  and  will  go  out  next 
winter. 

Bishop  Robinson  writes  that  our  hospital  work 
has  assumed  a decidedly  useful  place  in  the  Gugcrat 
district. 

It  needs: 

One  more  doctor. 

One  more  nurse. 

$10,000  for  physicians’  and  nurses’  home. 

(They  now  live  in  the  hospital.) 

$1000  for  an  infection  ward. 

$300  for  electric  lights. 

$800  for  a sterilizer. 


8 


